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Salhani writes: "Senate Republicans put forward a bill Wednesday that would send ISIS fighters to prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The legislation, presented by Sens. Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Steve Daines (R-MT), is the latest attempt by Republicans to derail President Obama's attempts to fulfill a campaign promise to close the notorious prison."

Detainees stand during an early morning Islamic prayer at the U.S. military prison for 'enemy combatants' in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. (photo: John Moore/Getty Images)
Detainees stand during an early morning Islamic prayer at the U.S. military prison for 'enemy combatants' in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. (photo: John Moore/Getty Images)


Senate Republicans Further Complicate Efforts to Close Guantanamo

By Justin Salhani, ThinkProgress

28 May 16

 

enate Republicans put forward a bill Wednesday that would send ISIS fighters to prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. The legislation, presented by Sens. Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Steve Daines (R-MT), is the latest attempt by Republicans to derail President Obama’s attempts to fulfill a campaign promise to close the notorious prison.

“Instead of closing the prison, the Administration should transfer detained ISIS fighters to Guantánamo Bay,” the senators said in a statement.

The proposed bill is an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for 2017 and supported by a number of Republican Senators, including former Presidential candidate Ted Cruz. Other supporters of the bill are all Republican and include Sens. Jerry Moran and Pat Roberts (both KS), Joni Ernst (IA), Mark Kirk (IL), James Inhofe (OK), and Tim Scott (SC).

Guantánamo Bay’s history is riddled with cases of human rights abuses and torture. Jihadist media and propaganda regularly refers to the prison, and some suggest it may even inspire certain jihadist activity. “[Guantánamo gives] radicals an opportunity to say, you see, this is what America is all about. They’re all about torture and detention centers,” former Secretary of State Colin Powell said in 2010.

Obama campaigned on trying to close Guantánamo, often referred to as Gitmo, but his plans have repeatedly met opposition from the Republican controlled Congress. Obama last sent plans to close Guantánamo to Congress in late February. “I am very clear-eyed about the hurdles to finally closing Guantánamo: The politics of this are tough,” Obama said at the time. “I don’t want to pass this problem on to the next president, whoever it is. And if, as a nation, we don’t deal with this now, when will we deal with it?”

Speaking in his last State of the Union address, Obama said, “I will keep working to shut down the prison at Guantánamo: it’s expensive, it’s unnecessary, and it only serves as a recruitment brochure for our enemies.”

Regarding the cost of operating Guantánamo, the New York Times wrote in February, “The Pentagon argued in its proposal that replacing Guantánamo would cost less than keeping detainees at the naval base in Cuba. Upgrading an existing prison could cost as much as $475 million, but would save the government as much as $85 million annually in operational costs compared with Guantánamo, it found.”

Reports say that the White House has considered using executive action to shut down the controversial facility. Obama arrived in office with 242 detainees at the prison and has lowered the number of inmates to 91 during his time in office. No new prisoners have arrived and 35 are currently waiting on approval of transfer recommendations. Of the 91, there are 46 who have never been charged and haven’t been approved for transfer.

In a recent interview, the Intercept’s journalist Jeremy Scahill was asked if President Obama’s preference for killing over capturing alleged terrorists was related to his attempts to close Guantánamo.

“I think Obama would reject that,” Scahill replied, “but I think at a minimum, it became a necessary component of his strategy to fight terrorism and protect national security … Killing people became a more convenient way of doing two things at once: saying we’re taking the fight to the terrorists, and on the other hand, not having to deal with ‘Where do we put the people that we capture?'”

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